Chicago mom dominating the internet

In just the last week, I swear I've seen this woman on more web pages than I count. TPM, NYTimes, 538, and the Chicago Reader, just off the top of my head. Only this morning did I spot the local angle: she's from Chicago! She does look pretty good now.

Weekend on the links: A slow 48

Rev. Wilfredo De Jesus, originally Billy Ocasio's (26th) pick to replace him as alderman, bites the dust, after his homosexual rhetoric in church picked up some MSM juice. Ocasio's wife is in instead.

Chicago seems to be ground zero for national media companies' beta "local" blogs. If only Huffington Post Chicago had the local equivalent of a Sam Stein or a Nico Pitney.

I can safely say that this Austin Weekly News editorial about the Burr Oak grave robbers is the most strongly worded piece I've read in a long, long time.

Sloopin catches a copper napping on the job. SCC bait!

Hittin' the links: Where the bodies are buried

Well, Burris can die with that "U.S. Senator" inscription on his gravestone at least.

Until it gets ripped up and dumped in the corner of a cemetary, of course.

Inspector General Hoffman is getting a lot of pushback from within City Hall and the Council. It'll be interesting to see where all this goes.

If you read this article closely, it sounds suspiciously like the city never needed to rent Vanecko's garage to begin with, doesn't it? As with any good Chicago news article, you've got to read between the lines.

Speaking of which, a lot of smart writers seem to think there's a lot more than meets the eye in the relatively straightforward announcement that John Harris, Blago's last chief of staff, is cooperating with the Feds.

Arresting Tales is like SCC but smarter and less vitriolic. Today's post has some fascinating links that attempt to explain why so many suspects seem to get shot in the back by police.

I know I've been harping on this, but today ABC-7 repeats Chicago2016's assertion that they'll be visiting "50 wards in 50 days," which is not, in fact, true.

Chicago 2016 to Brooks: 'keep your phony goldbrickin ass out of my beachside community meeting'

I'd been reading all about the ways Chicago 2016 has been reaching out to real Chicago citizens and I guess I got a little carried away and decided I'd go to one of their community meetings. This one, billed as a Robert Taylor Working Group Meeting on the Chicago2016.org "Community Meetings Calendar" webpage, seemed like it could be particularly interesting.

I mean, look how fun they make these meetings sound!

Chicago 2016 is committed to reaching out and providing a forum for dialogue to all Chicagoland communities. The bid strives to actively engage in participation and conversation with all neighborhoods and communities.

Well, I shouldn't have gotten so carried away. After CTAin' it all the way down to 40th and Indiana and then hoofing through a trash-strewn side street to S. State, I finally arrived at the Hansberry Square Community Center, the appointed venue.

There, a pleasant receptionist laughed and then told me that the meeting was not open to the public at all; it was only for the development group. It was also apparent I was not the first person she'd had to tell.

I guess "community meeting" could be misinterpreted...after all, there are lots of "community meetings" that aren't open to the public. What is a board meeting but a meeting between members of a community of like-minded professionals all working for the same company? What is a police interrogation but a meeting between members of the community of men?

Next time I'll call.

All 50 Wards...

A minor quibble, perhaps, but it's worth pointing out that the Tribune has been peddling one bit of Daley administration propaganda that is essentially untrue.

It appears again today in the 3rd graf of an article that explores a turf-pissing battle over TV rights between the IOC and the USOC:

This week, Chicago's 2016 Olympic boosters unveiled a plan to meet with residents of all 50 wards in an effort to rebuild support in the wake of a controversy sparked last month...

It also appeared in yesterday's Tribune, in the form of an AP article announcing the meetings:

Amid recent criticism of the city's bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics, local organizers are going out to talk to Chicago residents.

Organizers said they are working with aldermen to plan public meetings to talk with residents from all of the city's 50 wards.

It may in fact be the city's intent to meet with residents from all 50 wards (just as it may be my intent to fly like a bird), but, in fact, it looks like they will be hosting no more than 10 or 15 meetings, grouping several wards together at a time.

It's kind of like if a presidential candidate announced they were going to be holding meetings with people from all 50 states, but then expected you to drive to South Bend for a combined Illinois-Indiana-Michigan confab. As if.

The full list of meetings that have been announced so far appears here, on the official (and quite plush) Chicago 2016 website.

Hittin' the links: Madigan Madness

The Madigan announcement will have all sort of cascading effects, even down to the ward level.

Back in Daleyworld, another one bites the dust.

From Gaper's Block, we learn, among other things, that Daley is an "Anthony Mason-Charles Oakely-Shaq intimidator."

Daley's 2016 crew takes their show on the road.

Ald. Pope (10th) in a world of parking meter pain.

A TIF is conceived, in a not-so-blighted area. I can almost hear the keys tapping on Joravsky's typewriter.

Another day, another rat.

Hittin' the links: Crapsplosion!

Daley throws cold water on rumors of a pending Preckwinkle-for-Prez endorsement.

The skeletal outlines of a (slightly) more powerful anti-Daley caucus? Schulter (47th) and Mell (33rd), who have their own ward-level political reasons for being on this list, probably don't count.

The Reader and the Trib offer their takes on yesterday's parking meter hearing. Kass has his own quixotic offering.

The AFL-CIO puts in its lot (and, more importantly, its money) with Daley's Olympic Village.

And, while catching up on old Straight Dope columns, I came across this fascinating comparison of crime in various "revitalizing" neighborhoods.

More recently, the Dope drills down on all this crappy weather we've been having.

Talk about crappy. Ha.